Manifold form feeding and hold-down mechanism



Jan. l0, 1956 J. M. RIORDAN MANIFOLD FORM FEEDING AND HOLD-DOWN MECHANISM 2 Sheets-Sheet l Filed Sept. 23, 1952 INVENTOR.

B M m @fg/W70 `Iain. 10, 1956 J, M RlORDAN 2,730,358

MANIFOLD FORM FEEDING AND HOLD-DOWN MECHANISM Filed Sept. 25, 1952 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Fla E INVENTOR.

Byl u www.

MANIFOLD FORM FEEDING AND HOLD-DOWN MECHANISM John M. Riordan, Cieveland Heights,

Bonnar-Vawter, Incorporated, poration Ohio, assigner to Cleveland, hio, a cor- This invention relates to feeding and hold-down mechanism, and primarily to such mechanism most particularly useful in conjunction with a collating machine.

In collating machines of the type to which this invention refers in availing of the same for incorporation therein, record sheets are provided in the form of a continuous web of paper, directed to the machine and interleaved with corresponding strips of transfer or carbon paper, all of the same being performed in a substantially continuous operation, and effecting an interleaving of a number of such record and carbon sheets, with the record sheets being maintained in aligned condition with regard to printed matter carried upon the surfaces thereof.

In order to maintain the record sheets with the printed matter on the same in aligned condition, it has been found that the same may be desirably effected by providing at one edge of the web, a plurality of longitudinally aligned holes which are suitably spaced so as to receive therein feed pins or fingers. It will be understood that the holes in the respective webs of record sheets are formed in relation to the printed matter appearing thereupon, and thereby aligning of the said holes, and the insertion of suitable pins therein so as to carry the webs through the machine, the printed matter may be maintained in aligned position as the collating operation proceeds. Further, during the collation of such webs, it is often highly desirable to cause the respective webs to be glued or otherwise fastened together by suitable adhesive and in order to maintain the webs in such condition after the adhesive has been initially applied, the tingers or pins are desirably maintained in contact with the feed holes above mentioned for a substantial period of time.

During the time after which the adhesive has been applied, and before the same has dried sutiiciently for the proper maintenance of the respective webs in their thus aligned condition, it may in some instances require that the pins be in engagement with the feed holes and in 4nited States Patent@ entering and being retracted from the feed holes, not v cause the webs to be mis-aligned or thus effect a misregistry of the respective web.

Heretofore the use of feed holes involving the provision of pins on a continuous traveling member such as an endless belt, has oftentimes not been completely satisfactory, in view of the fact that as the continuous web or belt moves around its supporting members the pins are caused to enter the feed holes at an angle with respect to the same, and thus under certain conditions affect unfavorably the registration of the respective record sheets, and thereafter unduly enlarge the feed holes if registry has been changed, and thereby prevent proper manipulation of the assembled web for subsequent operations thereupon.

Further, previously it has been contemplated that in maintaining the respective webs of record sheets in condition, with the same being carried through the machine by the pins entered in the feed holes thereof, to maintain the respective webs in surface contact so as to secure the adherence thereof by means of the adhesive with a llat hold-down member which, under many conditions in and of itself, unduly retards the movement of the upper record sheet with which the same is in contact and often affects certain of the other record sheets disadvantageously. It will be apparent that this results from the necessity for sufficient pressure to be applied by this hold-down bracket in order to secure the proper adhesion of the respective webs.

Further, previously in order to adjust the speed with which the feeding mechanism is operating, involving the pins therein, the same has been regulated by complicated means with respect to the speed of the balance of the machine, oftentimes resulting in an undue enlargement of the feed holes because of the variations in speed of the respective feeding unit and units through which the webs of paper have passed previously. It is therefore understandable that it would be highly desirable to have a readily adjustable arrangement so as to afford perfect registration and maintenance of proper tension of the web through the collating machine under all conditions.

It is therefore a principal object of this invention to provide a feeding mechanism involving an endless member upon which the pins are mounted for entering the feed holes of the webs being fed, and to effect insertion of and withdrawal of the pins in such a manner as to maintain the respective webs in proper registration and not enlarge the feed holes or otherwise distort the registration.

It is a further object of this invention to provide a feeding mechanism which involves a feed unit including therein a series of feeding devices connected to the endless member, which devices include members for engaging the feed holes in the paper web, and which may be inserted in and withdrawn from said feed holes in groups, and in substantially vertical direction so as not to provide a radial entrance of the pins into the feed holes.

lt is a further object of this invention to provide a feeding mechanism which includes a feeding unit having therein a pair of sprocket members upon which an endless chain is mounted, the endless chain in turn being connected with a plurality of carriers, which carriers are formed with pins extending therefrom at right angles, the carriers in turn being engaged with a track which will cause the carriers to move in a substantially vertical direction, at one point in their traverse, and thus enter the feed holes in the webs of paper in a substantially vertical direction and without distortion or causing misregistry ot' the respective webs.

It is a still further object of this invention to provide a novel hold-down unit, which unit is formed so as to adequately maintain the respective webs in their positions for the feed pins, and at the same time eliminate the braking effect transmitted to at least the upper one of the said webs so as to permit the maintenance of the Webs in perfect registry throughout the machine.

It is a still further object of this invention to provide a novel adjusting arrangement, so as to vary the rate of feeding or movement of the feed pins with respect to the nain drive of the machine so that a nicety of adjustment may be attained and perfect tension maintained on the web being fed through the machine.

An additional object of the invention, is to provide such an arrangement of adjustment that by actual adjustment of one of the members thereof, variation or change in speed of the respective members may be attained.

A still further object of this invention is to provide a feeding mechanism wherein a primary drive gear is availed of, which gear is helically cut in one direction, and engages an intermediate gear, a secondary gear having teeth thereon helically cut in the other direction also engages the intermediate gear, and by actually shifting the intermediate gear, variations in the rotational relationship between the primary 'and secondary gears maybe attained.

Other and further objectsof this invention will be understood from a description thereof set forth inthe .specilftcat-ion, and shown in -thedrawingsfwhereinz ,n

Figure "l yis a side elevational view ofthe mechanism-of this invention, beingpartlyin section.

Figure 2 is .a top plan view .ofthe mechanismhereo showing the arrangement of vthe drive .gearing :and 4adjusting means therefor.

Figure' is an end view, taken fromtheleftend of Figure 2, and being somewhat :fragmentaryin .naturershowling the relationship' betweenithe-drive,gearing,. the feeding unit, and the hold-,down .unithereof Referring now .toFiguresl .to b3 inclusiveof thedrawings, there is illustrated .afdriv'e gearing unit :generally-designated A,.a feeding .device AdesignatedB, andfahold-down unit generllydesignatedaC.

`TThe feeding deviee "B Vwill `iirst'sbe described, `and .is shown as consisting .of `a fframe .designated 1, 'suitably mounted upon a frameZof the machine, .the Vlatter being shown partially. Mounting .ofthe 4frame 1.isby means of the bolts and nuts jthe'frame 1being comprised of substantially identicalframe members 4 and 5, the 'frame member 4 designated the rearzframe, and-frame member Sithe forward or outer frame. .The framemembers 4 and `5 are provided with what may be called cam tracks and 7 respectively, it being apparent from a consideration of the `drawing that the cam tracks .areto be.substantially-aligned, the reason for this being.understood as the description hereof proceeds. The cam tracks 6 and 7 referred-to, are formed in the faces of the-respectiveframe members in the form of grooves of some substantial depth and width.

'intermediate the respectiveframe members 4 and 5, there is suitably mounted a -feeding .unitgenerallyzdesignated'S, said unit comprising a pair ofsprocketsw9 and 10. The sprocket@ is suitably mounted onfa-shaft:1.1,carried in bearings formed in theframev members 4.and 5,7the shaft 11 having at its rearward end a,..gear-12 ywhich will be referredlto as the secondary drivegear.

The other sprocket 1t) is .mountedon-asuitable shaft 13, likewise supported inbearings formedinthe respective frame members 4 and`5.

Suitably mounted on the sprockets 9-and lil, whiehare spaced from eachother some distanccapart, is anendless chain 14 of conventional constructionvinvolving the .usual links and pintles therefor. Suitably connected to the. chain (14, are a series of earriersl. .'.ThecarrierslS areieaeh formed as seen in Figure l,.with :a body portion A16'.and an ofstanding leg 17a. vlhe orfstandingdeg 17a.is pivotally connected to a corresponding pintleofjthe chainf14, cach of lthe carriers being.so1eonnected,..and...in one example of the device, eXteridingarbout-,theequivalenti of `3 links of the chain. At .theopposite end,.the.earriers 1S are'eaeh provided with a pair.of.ro1lers -17 Vwhiehrollers `17 are adapted' to engage in and'operate in the-.camtracks `6 and `7 previously referred to. `It willbe understoodthat the respective frame members VALland 5 are suitably spaced so as to receive therebetween the chain 14 and-sprockets 9 and'lt), as well as the carriers 15, but that the rollers 17 extend into the tracks as previously mentioned.

Each-of the carriers 15`is provided with aseries of. pins :18, inthis instance there being`4 ofthe samefall of-these pins being mounted in the 'carriers' 'sofasto'extend at right angles therefrom.

As viewed iii-Figure lf it willb'e noted"that"the`eam track isubstantiallylfollows =`the 'general conto'urof the chain 14 .mounted Aon lthesprockets *91 a'nd 110, but" at the rightf-hand'end of theffeedinglunitf '-thefcamitraek is formed-with a cam lobe:19. This :camrlobei19isformed soV that. as .theparticularearrien;reaches.thatpointgthe end upon which lthe rollers 17|:arei1'rnount'ed'willfmovelup- Iwardly yat.` the samerateas: theo"ffstandingY end ofthe'fearrier 15,*and'thus the tpins 1'8-on `the carrier willlmove 'Lupwardly in a substantially vertical manner. Thus, when a web ofpaper or record sheet lis in the position at the right-hand end of the mechanism shown in Figure l, further movement of the chain and thus the carriers 15 thereon, will cause the pins 18 to move into the feed holes provided in the web at theedgerthereof, without any distortion of the holes, the pins moving simultaneously and in a vertica'ldirectio'n 1in cont-rastto a radial direction.

The movement abovedescribed is effected by reason of .thefactlhatsthe are designated Vby `the line 20 having the arrows at foppositeen'ds thereof, -is-cqual to the are .21, of a similar nature having arrows at its end. The vare of the line 21, is the are of ,thepitch line of the sprocket 10 as willbeunderstood'fand"thus the rate at which theconnection with the 1ehain21'4 moves upwardly will be at the identical rate at which the rollers 17 at the other end of the carrier 15 move upwardly; thus effecting a vertical simultaneous movement .of .all ofthe pins 181into engagementwiththe .feedholes in .the strip vat the edge ofthe web being ffed.

Thereafter, .the camtrack r6. isv so 'arranged'v as :to cause the carriers 15 tomove or travel in asubstantiallylevel .plane by the portion :22 of the earn track, until the `carriersreach the-other end .of :the feed unit. At the vother end .of the feed .unit,..an.opposite .movement to that .previously describedon the part of the pins 18 takes place. `Thisis effected'by reasonoffthefact .that thearc indicated iby the *line 23' between the arrowsl at the left-hand end of 4Fig. l, is equal -to .the are'. indicated by the line 24 between the arrows. lHowever, it will be apparent that -the are of nthe track n23 .lies.in -an .opposite direction to the arc20 previously'referred. to, .and thus as the .end of fthe carrierIS connected at.117a to the chain moves 'downwardly, vlikewise the rollers y17 of the opposite end of the carrier will also move downwardly 'simultaneously and thus withdraw the pinsvlfin a vertical `direction simultaneouslyfrom :their positions in the feed holes of the -web being fed.

Thereafter, vthe carriers -.1-5 travel around with the chain.`174,5it.being.relativelyitnmaterial what form the track takes during such .travelfuntil the ysame reach vthe opposite end-where the action .previously 'described will obtain. It will .thus be apparent that the .cam .track y,involves elements at .one end thereof, including the/arc .-1`9, which -.cause the carriers-to moveas described, additional elements adjacent the vsame which cause the carrier to vremain Ain its .upraised position with ythe Apins l1'8engaging fthefeed. holes, and subsequently additional elements offtheeam track =6 are provided at the other end of the unit to .retract .or withdraw the pins.

.Although theabove .description .refers only to the cam .track 6,it.is to .beunderstoed -that the cam track ".7is of .identical configuration and vis:exactlyloeated.oplposite the .track.6.

It willlbe .understoodthata table 25,v is provided, the samehaving a slot .therein through which the pins 1S project,`duringthe operation. previously set forth, and from which .thepinsare retracted at the end of their travel movement.

"In order tomaintain the respective webs or strips of record sheetsin contact .when the same are engagedby the Vfeed holes therein with the pins 18, the hold-down .unit 'C vis provided. The..holddown unit C, includes a longitudinallyextending,bracket 26, of L-shaped cross section, Asomewhat more .clearly shown .invFigure 3, one legof themember'26 .being pivotally supporteclat v27 onthetbleZS. ".The otherdegZS extends atright-angles to lthemerriber.26,.antlhas mounted thereon-a plurality of rllers 29. The rollers 29 are closely spaced .as seen in .Figure `1,and include-the `grooves 30a in theperipheries `thereof. .The rollers -29 .are preferably mounted .uponballvbearingstor-other anti-.friction bearings,'so as .to-rotate veryffreelyandrnotvto retardthe movementiof -t11eupperestriporfweb ;.o'f:record': sheets .as the web :passes dhrough :tiret mechanism zheref.

It will be understood that the rollers 29 are provided with the peripheral grooves 30a so as to permit the pins 18 to move as required, and yet the peripheries 31a may remain in contact with the web so as to keep the same in position on the pins 18. A suitable adjusting bolt arrangement 32a is provided, so as to vary the tension of the rollers 29 upon the web, as required by different thicknesses of web and different conditions of operation.

Referring now to Figure 2 in the drawing, the drive gearing arrangement A will now be described. This mechanism A includes a main drive gear 38, suitably mounted on a drive shaft 31, the drive shaft 31 being in turn provided with sprocket 32, the sprocket 32 being driven from the main motor of the machine (not shown) at a predetermined speed. The gear 3i! has teeth 33 thereon cut helically and in one direction so as to engage with helically cut teeth 34 upon an intermediate gear 35. it will be noted that the teeth 34 are cut near one side of the gear 35, and on the other side of the gear, other teeth 36 are helically cut in the opposite direction. The teeth 36 in turn engage with correspondingly helically cut teeth 37 on the gear 12, previously mentioned-the gear 12 being noted as the secondary gear.

The gear 35 is mounted upon a hub 3S, see Figure 1, which hub 38 is in turn carried in a bracket 39. The gear 35 is adapted to freely rotate on the hub 38, the hub 38 being in turn fastened by a pin to an adjusting screw 41. The screw 41 is provided with a handle 42, the handle 42 being accessible for manipulation. The rear end of the screw 41 is engaged in a suitable threaded opening 41a in the frame 2. The bracket 39 previously mentioned, is formed so that the axial movement of the hub 38 may take place, and the same may thereafter be fixed by means of a screw 43 in the lower side thereof, effecting a clamping operation of the lowerI portion of the bracket.

With the foregoing in mind, in order to effect relative rotative changes of the sprocket 32 and the secondary gear 12 by means of which the feed unit 8 is driven, the gear 35 may be shifted toward and from the rear of the mechanism, by loosening the set screw 43 and thereafter rotating the handle 42. This will cause the gear 35 to move on its axis, and thus change the timing between the gears 30 and 12, within a narrow range of movement depending on the angle at which the respective helices are cut on the gears. Thus, when it is desired to change the timing, the above operation may be effected, so as to cause the movement of the pins 18 at a rate to correspond with other mechanism from which the mechanism herein is receiving the web of material, and thus prevent mis-alignment of the pins with respect to the feed holes as will be understood.

As shown in Figure 2, a fragment of a web of manifolded forms is indicated at D, the same being provided with the feed holes 45 near one edge, which feed holes 45 are to be engaged by the pins 18 previously mentioned.

The collating af the respective webs and the subsequent movement of the web D as shown in Figure 2, so as to provide a manifolded form arrangement, is thus effected by means of the pins 18 which move in a vertical upward direction so as to project above the table 25, and thereafter move along the table 25 while the adhesive is drying between the respective strips of the web, and thereafter the pins 1S may be retracted by the means set forth so as to be withdrawn from the position above the table 25, without affecting adversely the alignment of the respective record sheet webs or distorting the holes 45 therein.

I claim:

l. In mechanism of the class described for feeding strip material including paper webs having feed holes in an edge thereof, in combination, a frame, a table on said frame, a feeding unit supported by said frame for feeding the strip material along the table comprising sprockets and an endless chain carried thereby for travel movement therearound in one direction beneath said table, drive means for said unit, a series of feeding devices separate from said chain, pivotally connected to said chain so as to extend outwardly with respect thereto for movement therewith, said devices having one end free of and in trailing position with respect to the direction of travel of said chain, said devices having feed hole engaging instrumentalities thereon and guide elements on said frame spaced outwardly with respect to said chain, said one end of each of the devices having a part in constant engagement with said elements to effect vertical movement of the instrumentalities during traverse of the chain around a sprocket and simultaneously project the same above the table at right angles.

2. The combination as claimed in claim 1, wherein the feeding devices comprise carriers pivotally connected at only one end to the chain, the free end of said carriers being engaged with the guide elements which comprise a cam track spaced outwardly of said chain having a section formed to raise said free end of each carrier during travel movement thereof at the same rate as the end of the carrier connected to the chain, to cause the vertical movement stated.

3. The combination as claimed in claim 2, wherein the section mentioned is a rst section near one end of the table, a second section extends beneath and substantially parallel to the table, said second section maintaining each carrier in raised position during travel therealong, and a third section of the track near the other end of the table at a distance from the first section is formed to lower said free end of each carrier at the same rate as the end of the carrier connected to the chain, to cause simultaneeus lowering of feed instrumentalities thereon at right angles to the table.

4. The combination as claimed in claim 1, wherein the feed hole engaging instrumentalities comprise a plurality of pins extending at right angles from each feeding device, said pins being adapted to engage in aligned feed holes in a plurality of paper Webs, and a hold-down unit is mounted above said table and includes a plurality of aligned rollers having peripheral grooves formed therein, the peripheries of said rollers being adapted to engage the surface of one web of paper and the pins extend into said grooves during travel movement thereof.

References Cited in the le of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,708,022 Lorenz Apr. 9, 1929 1,986,180 Bauch Jan. 1, 1935 2,100,535 Boggs Nov. 30, 1937 2,179,156 Mabon Nov. 7, 1939 2,258,799 Payne Oct. 14, 1941 2,286,084 Hageman June 9, 1942 2,448,292 Barber Aug. 31, 1948 2,633,354 Mixer Mar. 3l, 1953 FOREIGN PATENTS 435,459 Great Britain Sept. 23, 1935 974,061 France Feb. 19, 1951 

